“I would say Obama [won the debate],” said Fred Lokken, a political science professor at Truckee Meadows Community College. “Clearly, this was the performance that he needed in the first debate. He came back really strong and solidified his base in the process.” [...]

When the debate Tuesday turned to immigration issues, it sunk Romney’s chances, said Eric Herzik, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada, Reno.

“Oh, that was the killer,” Herzik said. “Even before the question was asked, Obama had already brought up self-deportation. Obama also brought up that we were a nation of immigrants. And then, when the immigration question was asked, Romney was all over the place trying to answer the question.”

“Essentially, Romney could not walk away from the Republican primaries on this one, where the Republican answer (to immigration) was to build a fence,” Herzik said. “And if that was not enough, electrify it.”

Lokken also saw the immigration question as a turning point. But there were others, he said.

“Obama clearly addressed women, he clearly spoke to immigrants, especially Hispanic-Americans, and he especially reached out and really connected with his ‘47 percent’ issue at the end of the debate,” Lokken said. “Those were the things that the Democrats were looking for in this debate because they were woefully absent in the first debate.”

As we discussed last night, President Obama finally reached his "A Game" and hit Mitt Romney on everything from women's health to foreign affairs to education to immigration and more. Finally, Obama took the offensive on the debate stage and confronted Romney with his own record. It turned out to be quite the powerful performance.

And with early voting starting this Saturday here in Nevada, last night's debate may be the last impression voters have of the candidates... Except, of course, if they plan to see Joe Biden in person today in Reno or tomorrow in Las Vegas. I'm sure Biden will be smiling quite a bit during his visit to Nevada.